Jose Mourinho reveals what he said to Real Madrid star in tunnel after epic Benfica win | Football

Jose Mourinho says he told Dean Huijsen he was ‘lucky’ Real Madrid didn’t lose by more after Benfica sealed an incredible 4-2 victory to advance through to the Champions League play-offs.

Benfica had looked on course to miss out on goals scored, despite holding a 3-2 advantage over Madrid in the dying embers of Wednesday’s unforgettable league phase contest.

However, Benfica’s goalkeeper, Anatoliy Trubin, was sent up upfield for a well-positioned free-kick deep into stoppage time, with the hosts requiring just one goal after Madrid had seen both Raul Asencio and Rodrygo sent off.

In amongst a crowd of bodies, Trubin timed his run to perfection and rose the highest to beat Thibaut Courtois with an emphatic header, sparking wild celebrations at the Estadio da Luz.

Mourinho’s men held firm in the last remaining seconds of the game to hold onto 24th place in the table, which was enough to secure the club an unseeded spot ahead of next month’s two-legged play-offs.

Madrid, meanwhile, just missed out on automatic qualification with a ninth-place finish, meaning they, too, must progress via the play-offs albeit as one of the seeded teams.

‘We knew that he could do it, we knew that he could do it,’ Mourinho, who, of course managed Madrid from 2010 to 2013, told TNT Sports of Trubin’s stunning 98th-minute header.

‘We were losing in Porto a couple of weeks ago, he went up there in the last minute and almost scored so we know that the big guy is capable of this.

‘The quality of the service, of course, is the most important thing, you have to put the ball there.

‘But it’s an amazing goal for the guy.’

Asked at what moment did he find out that Benfica required just one more goal to book themselves a play-off spot, Mourinho explained: ‘When I made the changes, the last changes, Ivanovic and Antonio Silva, I was told that it was enough so let’s close the door.

‘When I made the changes a few seconds later they tell me, “We need one more goal”, but I cannot make more changes.

‘So that was the lucky point, to get the free-kick to allow us to go there with the big guy.’

In the tunnel shortly after the dust had settled, Mourinho was seen catching up with Madrid defender Huijsen, who he previously managed at Roma.

According to TNT Sports reporter Archie Rhind-Tutt, The Special One was overheard muttering, “F***inghell”, to the defender, in many ways summing up the rollercoaster contest to perfection.

‘Dean was my player at Roma, he’s friends with my kids and the families know each other well so I have a good relationship with him,’ Mourinho said of his reunion with Huijsen.

‘We were just speaking about the game and, of course, the kid is disappointed.

‘But I was telling him, “You were lucky! You were lucky to lose only 4-2”, because it could be more.’

Benfica’s unlikely hero, Trubin, was almost lost for words when trying to describe his emotions in the aftermath of Benfica’s famous victory.

‘I don’t know. I scored a goal!’ he laughed.

‘For me, it’s unbelievable, something I have never had before so I don’t know how to react.

‘When we received the free-kick, after that I understand because everyone, the bench, the players on the pitch, shouted to me, point at me, saying, “Go! Go! Go!”, and I asked when I come there whether we need one more goal.

‘Thank God I did it. We did it.’

The Ukraine international added: ‘Maybe I still cannot understand at all [the feelings] but unbelievable… I don’t know what more to say because it’s crazy.

‘It’s such an important goal for us, for the fans, for Benfica.

‘We go to the play-offs so it’s unbelievable.’

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